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About the Book

This book presents a broad range of research related to how social knowledge is shared, transmitted and transformed in the context of education and professional formation. The chapters of this edited collection reflect different theoretical and empirical approaches to that form of common-sense knowledge called social representations, the theory of which was developed almost a half-century ago by Serge Moscovici. Scholars from various research institutions in Brazil, France and Sweden, spanning a wide variety of disciplines within the social sciences, have contributed chapters that are grouped into three main categories related to education, professionalization and transformation of knowledge. Part I covers theoretical approaches to understanding the transformation of social knowledge from the perspective of social representations. Part II analyzes the impact of the theory of social representations on the transformation of knowledge in the field of education and professional formation. Finally, Part III presents several empirical studies focused on the social and cultural frames that condition the transformation of knowledge. While the book is devoted to education and the emerging field of research on professionalization, it will also appeal to anyone with a general interest in how people acquire their worldviews and how these views influence their actions.

Table of Contents

List of Figures. List of Tables. Foreword Denise Jodelet Acknowledgments. Introduction: Social Knowledge – Shared, Transmitted, Transformed Mohamed Chaib, Berth Danermark, and Staffan Selander Part I: Theoretical Approaches 1. Transformations and Changes in Social Knowledge – Towards the Dynamics of Meaning Making Anders Gustavsson and Staffan Selander 2. Social Representations and Power Berth Danermark and Per Germundsson 3. Of Contextualized Use of "Social" and "Professional" Alain Piaser and Michel Bataille 4. Understanding Professionalization as a Representational Process Pierre Ratinaud and Michel Lac 5. The Teacher’s Work Clarilza Prado de Sousa 6. Education Processes of the Teacher as an Apprentice Vera Maria Nigro de Souza Placco and Vera Lucia Trevisan de Souza 7. Social Representations and Cultures of Action Jean-Marie Barbier Part II: Education and Professional Formation 8. The Theory of Social Representations as a Theoretical and Methodological Tool for Research on Teachers in Brazil: Analyses of Theses and Dissertations Maria Suzana De Stefano Menin, Allesandra de Morais Shimizu, and Claudia Maria de Lima 9. Teacher Students’ Social Representations of How Adults Learn Mohamed Chaib and Josef Chaib 10. Being a School Teacher in Brazil Alda Judith Alves-Mazzotti 11. Trainers of Adults: Professional Representations and Training Knowledge Patrice Bouyssières and Marie-Pierre Trinquier 12. Training and Ruptures Christine Mias Part III: Socio-Cultural Contexts 13. Social Representations of Belonging in Pre-School Children’s Peer-Cultures Solveig Hägglund and Annica Löfdahl 14. Transformations of Risk Knowledge – The Medical Encounter and Patients’ Narrative Construction of Meaning Sonja Olin Lauritzen and Robert Ohlsson 15. The Role of the Media in the Transformation of Citizens’ Social Representations of Suffering Birgitta Höijer and Ulrika Olausson 16. Religiosity as a Way of Appropriating Knowledge Margot Campos Madeira, Luiz Fernando Rangel Tura, Maria Rosilene Barbosa Alvim, and Vincent de Paulo Carvalho Madeira 17. Appropriation of Knowledge and Social Psychology: Milgram’s Experiment on Obedience to Authority Sophie Richardot. Contributors. Index.

About the Editors

Mohamed Chaib is Professor of Education and Director of the National Centre for Lifelong Learning (Encell) at the School of Education and Communication at Jönköping University, Sweden.

Berth Danermark is Professor of Sociology at the The Swedish Institute for Disability Research, School of Health and Medical Sciences at Örebro University, Sweden.

Staffan Selander is Professor of Didactics in the Department of Didactic Science and Early Childhood Education at the Stockholm Institute of Education, Sweden.